Stop motion means for sewing machines



ZASZH@ Nov. '8, 1949 w. T. MAX/ANT STOP MOTION MEANS FOR SEWING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet l Original Filed May 20, .1940

Nov. 8, 1949 w. T. MAXANT STOP MOTION MEANS FOR SEWING MACHINES original Filed May 2o, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M m m Patented Nov. 8, 1949 UNITED PATENT OFFICE Original" application May 20, 1940, Serial No.4 336,248; DividedI and this application Decemher-3f, 1943;. SerialNo. 512,693l

Thisr invention relates` to; an: improvement in stop motion means@ for button. sewing. machines of the character usedf; for sewing.; buttons onwork of various kinds, particularly. clothv and vario-us articles of clothing..

This application is aldivfsion: of. my prior application on Button sewing machines, Serial No; 336,248, filed May' 20,` 1940 new Patent No. 2,383,875, granted Augustz28 1945.

The principalv object ofthe invention is to im prove the stop motion means; of .machines of this. character, to simplify itsaconstrnction, reducev the costf of manufacture,- whi1eyetproviding. for the efficient and. effective application of buttons, either of. the two-hole orlfoureliolev type;l to work,.by the manual actuation oi the machine` by the operator;

The principal improved` feature of: the machine is an improved andeicient stop motion for the machine acting on. a gear: attached, to the drive shaft and onthe hand;wlieel;L providing for the eiective: control of the'machinefatthe. end of the sewing operation, which is nevertheless. released tor repeat operation bya handle'- oryleverv which operates through the. top-of.. theflaase frame.

Many other improved features, are; incorporated; inthe machine relatingl to the. various` operating parts of the. mechanism, the assembly thereof and` the manner of handling the work in the operation.

These features: are'` incorporated in a; preferred embodiment oi the invention:` illustrated in the accompanyingA drawings, inwhich- Fig. l isaside, elevationv of asewing machine with the improved stop motion means Ioperatively associated therewith;

Fig. 2 is a' detail horizontal sectional. view in bottom. plan with parts in, elevation, ofy thema'- chine stop motion;

Fig;` 3 is avertical sectional: view.l therethrough; and x Fig; 4 is at similar'view. at right: angles thereto, substantially on the: line:y 4 4 ofi Fig.. 3.

Referring to the` drawingsqin. detail, themachine is designed for manuaf. operation and. is adapted to be supported on a table, workbench, or' the like, forl which purposeiti is provided with a supporting machinev bed'k designated generally by the numeral l'. Mounted" on the machine'bed I is a hollow base 2.

The base 2 has mountedv on one end thereof an upstanding standard` portion 3 of a` sewing machine arm, from the-upper endjofwhichy standard 6 Claims. (Cl. 13 2-219) 6 extends the lateraiarmportion 1'; carrying at the free end" tl'lereofk the maar sewing. head 8.

These parts comprising the standard B; arm portion 1 and sewing head 84 are preferably cast in- The1 sewing headI 8 theusual needle bar I0,

mounted therein in a guidel sleeve I I for reciprocating movement, carrying a needle l2 at the lower end thereof.

For the purpose of reciprocating the needle bar |10 axially thereof', link connections'` and intergearedv shafting extend` through the armportion I and standard 6.', and are operated by a drive shaft 20 that extendshorizontal-ly in the base- 2 and is journaled in bearings therein. The drive shaft 20. is connected through bevel gearing 2l (Figi. 2) with a jack shaft' 22,V extending at right angles. thereto through av side of the base 2, within which said. jack shaft is joulrnaled. Ay hand WheelI 23- is xedto. the outer end oi the jack shaft 22, externally of the base 2, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, and said hand wheel 23is provided' with a, projecting handle 24 thereon in position to be grasped by the operator at. one side of the machine to rotate the hand wheel 23'l and operate the' drive. shaft 20 andthe. several parts of the machine to accomplish the sewing. operation.

'IheA forward endof the drive shaft 20` carries theusual rotary looper thatcooperates with the needle I2 in. performing the sewing operation.

The base 2 has; a; cloth plate 38 ixedthereon adapted' to receive the fabric. to which the button is to be applied. Mounted on the, base 2v above the cloth plate 38 is a button clamp,` generally designated4 at 43', adapted to hold a. button in proper position to be stitched onto the. cloth. This" lbutton clamp 413 isl adapted' to be operated in properly timed relationwith the sewing opera.- tion.v as described andclaimed more in detailin my application Serial No. 336,248, led. MayY 20;, 1940, now Patent` No. 2,383,875'. The button clamp 43 is also adapted to. be raised and lowered by linkage extending through the base, 2 and through the standard 6 and. arm 1, as generally indicated` atv |31, whichlinkage. is connected with a manually shiftable lever I33.pivotally mounted in the baseV 2`.

The drive shaft 20. also carries a worm 93 which meshes with a. worm gear 9'4' havingv an elongated hub journaled on a pin 96 rigidly xed to the top ofthe base 2, as shown in Fig. 3, for controlling thev action of( the stop motion mechanism.

At thev completion of then4 button stitchingycycle, provision is made for automatically stoppingv the machine with the needle elevated or withdrawn from the button to permit ready removal of the material and button from the machine. For this purpose, the hand wheel 23 is provided with an inwardly extending stop pin I8 in position to be engaged by a sliding bolt ||9 (Figs. 2 and 3) mounted in bearings in the base 2. A coiled spring |2| is connected with one of the bearings |20 and with the bolt |9 tending to hold said bolt in a retracted position as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, where it is withdrawn out of the path of movement of the stop pin ||8, and an abutment |22 is secured on the bolt ||9 in position to engage a side of the bearing |20 and limit the inward movement of the bolt relative thereto.

The inner end of the bolt ||9 is rigidly secured to a yoke |23 which extends laterally therefrom and receives therein a lever |24 which is pivoted in the yoke at |25, intermediate the ends of said lever. One end of the lever extends in position to be engaged by a pin |26, rigidly iixed to the hub 95, while the opposite end of said lever has a. reduced portion |21, with Which a coiled spring |28 is connected, which coiled spring normally tends to swing the lever |24 to the full line position shown in Fig. 2, in which the inner end thereof is in position to be engaged by the pin |26 on the hub 95. Thus, the hub 95 may be rotated through a complete revolution by a turning movement of the hand wheel 23, during which said hand wheel will be turned through several revolutions but at the completion of the single revolution of the hub 95, its pin |26 will engage the inner end of the lever |24 and move said lever lengthwise bodily to thereby slide the bolt ||9 outwardly from the base frame 2 into the path of the stop pin I8 and thus limit the turning movement of the hand wheel 23 and of the operating shaft 20. These parts are arranged so that the operating shaft is stopped when the needle is in its elevated position withdrawn from the button and cloth. p

For releasing the bolt I9, a handle lever |29 is\ provided as shown in Fig. 4, which handle lever is pivoted at |30 and extends through a slot |3| in the top of the base frame 2, being provided with a knob |32 on the upper end thereof. The lower end of the handle 'lever |29 engages pivotally with the reduced end |21 of the lever |24, the connection being loose to permit lengthwise movement of said reduced end through an orifice in the handle lever |29 to accommodate for the lengthwise movement of the lever |24. The hand lever |29 may be moved to swing the lever |24 from the full line position in Fig. 2, to the dotted line position therein, upon which swinging movement the spring |28 is arranged to pull inwardly on said lever |24 to carry its inner end partially over the end of the pin |26 and thus release it from engagement by the pin which is facilitated by the inward pull of the coiled spring |2I, which acts to withdraw the bolt I9 inwardly, out of the path of the stop pin I8.

To recapitulate, with the lever bar |24 in the full-line position in Fig. 2, the rotation of the gear 94 by the hand wheel 23 causes the movement of the pin |26 into contact with the end of the lever bar |24, moving the latter endwiseA to the left. in Fig. 2. The lever bar |24 is connected by the block |23 with the bolt ||9. Thus, the aforesaid movement of the lever bar |24 pushes the bolt I9 forward so that its outer end projects into the path of the stop pin ||8 on the hand wheel., thereby blocking further rotation of the hand wheel.

When the operation of the machine is thus blocked, a forward pull on the lever |29 will swing the lever bar |24 on its pivot |25 to disengage the end of said lever bar |24 from the pin |26. The spring |2| acting on the bolt ||9 tends to move the same, and also the lever bar |24, endwise to the dotted line position in Fig. 2, when the lever bar is thus released by the pin |26. This action causes the lever bar |24 to overlie the end oi the pin |26, bearing thereagainst. In this position, the bolt ||9 remains out of blocking position, and the machine may be operated then by the hand Wheel through another revolution. As the pin |26 rotates from-under the lever bar |24, the spring |28 will act to move the free end of the lever bar |24 back against the hub 95 of the gear where it will be in position for reengagement by the pin |26 upon completion of said revolution, repeating the stop action as described.

Before starting the sewing operation, the material is placed, beneath the button clamp upon the cloth plate 38 when the button clamp is in an elevated position. The button is then inserted intov the vclamping jaws of the button clamp 43, and the handle lever |33 is moved in a clockwise direction in Fig. l to lower the button clamp onto the work.

The hand wheel 23 is then rotated by the operator (the bolt H9 .having been previously withdrawn upon the raising movement of the button clamp), the drive shaft 20 is operated to accomplish the stitching of the button material, in the usual way. The needle is manipulated and a predetermined number of stitches are placed alternately through the holes of the button as the button is shifted by movement of the thread clamp. With a four-hole button, a predetermined number of stitches are placed alternately through one pair of holes in the button, then the button is mov'ed automatically to present the other pair of holes and the stitching is continued until just before the completion of the stitching cycle when the button is shifted back to therst pair of holes, the needle taking two strokes through one hole at the completion of the cycle to provide the knotting stroke.

The complete sewing cycle involves rotation of the hand wheel 23 through a suiiicient number of turns to accomplish the desired sewing operation, whereupon the pin |26 on the hub of the worm gear 94 shifts' the sliding bolt ||9 into the path of the stop pin H8, attached to the h-and wheel 23 and stops the sewing operation just after the knotting stitch has been formed and with the needle raised to an elevated position out of the Iwork and button.`

Thereafter, the operator merely pulls forward on the handle lever '|33 to raise the button clamp. The work may then be removed or shifted to another position ready for the sewing of another button. f

The structure and operation of this raising and lowering means .are claimed in my application, Serial No. 336,248, iiled May 20, 1940, now Patent No. 2,383,875.

I claim:

1. In a sewing machine, the combination with a rotary device adapted to make a predetermined number of revolutions, of a stop motion mechanism therefor comprising a bolt slidably mounted for movement to a projected position in the path of rotation of said rotary device, resilient means connected with the bolt normally tending to withdraw the same, Ia lever, means mounting said leverv on the bolt. for pivotal movement and for lengthwise bodily movement to slide the bolt to a projected position, means connected with an operative part of the sewing machine for bodily moving said lever lengthwise in one direction against the tension of said resilient means for projecting movement of the bolt, yieldable means normally urging said lever toward said operative part for engagement by said last means, and a hand lever operatively connected lwith the first mentioned lever for releasing said lever from said last mentioned means whereby the bolt may be withdrawn by the rst mentioned resilient means.

2. In la sewing machine having a rotary member and a rotary power device for operating said rotary member, the combination of stop motion mechanism therefor comprising a, slidable bolt mounted for movement into the range of a portion of the power device for stopping said power device, yieldable means connected with the bolt for normally retracting the bolt, a lever bar pivotally connected with said bolt, and means connected with said rotary member for engaging the lever` bar and moving said bar and the bolt.

3. In a sewing machine having a rotary member and a rotary power device for operating said rotary member, the combination of stop motion mechanism therefor comprising a slidable bolt mounted for movement into the range of a portion of the power device for stopping said power device, yieldable means connected with the bolt for normally retracting the bolt, a lever bar pivotally connected iwith said bolt, means connected with said rotary member for engaging the lever bar to move said bar and the bolt, and means operatively connected with said lever bar for swinging the same out of engagement with the engaging means.

4. In a sewing machine having a rotary member and rotary power device for operating said rotary member, the combination of stop motion mechanism therefor comprising a slidable bolt, guiding means for said bolt, means for normally holding the bolt in retracted position, a support attached to the bolt and extending laterally therefrom, a lever pivotally mounted on said support, means connected with the rotary member for bodily moving the lever to move the support and bolt, and means for swinging the lever relative to said moving means.

5. In a sewing machine having an enclosed base with a top wall, a rotary member and a rotary power device for operating said rotary member, the combination of stop motion mechanism therefor, comprising a slidable stop member, guiding means for said stop member, means normally holding the stop member in retracted position, means operatively connected with the stop member and operated automatically in timed relation to the rotation of the rotary member for causing projecting movement of the stop member into restraining relation with the rotary member, a hand lever projecting upwardly in upstanding relation through the top of the base with a hand grip portion thereabove and pivotally mounted in the base for forward and backward swinging movement, and means connecting the lower end of said lever with the means for projecting the stop member to release said means upon swinging movement of the lever in one direction for Withdrawing action of the stop member.

6. A stop motion mechanism for a sewing machine including a rotary power device adapted to make a plurality of rotations in a sewing cycle and a rotary member operatively connected with the power device for operation thereby and adapted to make a single rotation in said sewing cycle, said stop motion mechanism comprising a stop member mounted for movement into the path of the power device, resilient means normally tending to withdraw said stop member, a lever, means pivotally mounting said lever intermediate the ends thereof and connecting the lever with the stop member, means connected with the rotary member engaging one end portion of said lever for actuating the lever to project the stop member, and means for releasing the lever from said engaging means to withdraw the stop member by the action of the resilient means.

WILLIAM T. MAXANT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,803,978 Roseman May 5, 1931 2,005,679 McCann June 18, 1935 2,075,759 Gunther Mar. 30, 1937 

